I was referring to wartime conditions, not post-war or peacetime when manning levels would not be under such stress.
I don't deny that there is a requirement for a PO to have a qualification as distinct from a rating. I didn't challenge that point or your service experience.
Many warships in WW2 were inadequately crewed by the standards of the day and my point was that it was incorrect to state that no vessel ever put to sea without a fully qualified crew when there is evidence to the contrary. I stand by what I wrote.
KH
|